jeffm@tektronix.UUCP (Jeff Mulick) (05/30/85)
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I have a Golden Retriever that is now ten months old. She was six weeks
when we bought her. I haven't had her long enough to answer all of your
questions, but I think I know her pretty well by now.
I've been taking her to obedience classes since she was four months old. I
strongly recommend finding a trainer in your area and start taking your dog
right away. Some people argue that you should wait until your dog is one year
old or so before starting classes. While it's easier to train at that age, they
are hard to live with until then -- you'll have a good size, full of energy
puppy that gets into everything. With obedience training you can keep them
under control early. However, if you start training at 4 months the progress
is frustratingly slow, but I feel worth the effrot.
I think a Golden Retriever has a mixture of traits that add up
to an excellent dog for a pet. They are somewhat high spirited, but nothing
like, say an Irish Setter. Once you have your dog obedience trained she will be
under control but still display a lot of enthusiasm and vigor that many other
breeds don't maintain once they have been obedience trained.
intelligence
It takes a while to get to know your dog, and vice-versa. Once you
get past that point, it's amazing what you can teach them to do. I
feel at this point that she can learn to do just about anything I care
to try teaching her. I give GR's high marks for intelligence.
Drooling
The only time this has been a problem is when she gets around other dogs
and starts to get really excited. This has waned as she has become used
to being around other dogs, and I really can't remember the last time
she drooled.
chewing/digging
Likes to do both. Just be sure to give them lots of chew toys, and if they
are chewing the wrong thing tell them NO! and give them one of their toys.
They quickly get the idea. Digging is a problem. I'm told that they grow
out of this. It's a hard one to correct, since you have to catch them in
the act to properly correct them. Since I've never caught her in the act
I've not been able to let her know that it's not the thing to do.
barking
No problems at all. In fact, when the neighborhood dogs start barking
at each other Brandee has never joined in.
disposition around children
She loves all people, especially children. My first child is only 4 months
old, and of course hasn't been left alone with the dog. GR's do have a
reputation for being exceptionally gentle around kids, though. I'm not
anticipating any problems.
As you can probably tell, I'm really biased towards Golden Retrievers. I think
they make wonderful pets. I don't know how knowledgeable you are about dogs in
general. The AKC has specifications on size and weight of each breed. If the
parent dogs fall outside of any of the categories your puppy will be less
valuable as a show dog. Our dog, for instance, had a small mother, so the
puppy was priced at $100. Other puppies we saw advertised, that had parents
that met the measurements, were $300 and up. Unless you plan on showing and
competing, the $100 dogs are just fine as pets. Also, coloring varies a lot.
Note what the parent dogs look like; your dog will eventually have the same
coloring.
One last word about obedience training. I started out with the intention of
taking one 8 week course. It's now six months later and I'm still taking
classes. It's a lot of work but really enjoyable and fun. What started out as
do-it-and-get-it-over-with has become a new hobby.
Jeff Mulick
Computer Resource Department DS 50/454
Tektronix, Inc.
P.O. Box 500
Beaverton, OR 97077
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